Individual Short-Term Consultant or Consulting Firm for Food Safety Project

Position: Individual Short-Term Consultant or Consulting Firm Location: Ben Tre, Binh Thuan and Son La Provinces Preferred Contract Term: Up to 39 days A. PROJECT BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES About IFC IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. Working with more than 2,000 businesses worldwide, we use our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in the toughest areas of the world. In FY18, we delivered more than $23 billion in long-term financing for developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to help end poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information, visit www.ifc.org. About IFC Food Safety Advisory IFC has made agribusiness a priority because of its potential for broad development impact and especially strong role in poverty reduction. We combine investments and advisory services to help the sector address higher demand and escalating food prices in an environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive way. IFC invests across the agribusiness supply chain—from farm to retail—to help boost production, increase liquidity, improve logistics and distribution, and expand access to credit for small farmers. IFC Advisory Services (AS) supports companies that promote good agricultural practices that benefit small-scale farmers, and value chain solutions involving small and medium size enterprises. The Global Food Safety Platform is one of various platforms that have been created by Manufacturing Agribusiness and Services Advisory to support clients along strategic themes. Within the scope of this Platform, IFC will be working with agribusiness and retail clients (“the Client-Companies”) in all food industry sectors on efforts to increase their competitiveness. Specifically, IFC’s Vietnam Food Safety Project aims to facilitate the upgrading of food safety management systems of companies in the region in keeping with changing global requirements that will lead to improvement of their performance and efficiency and ultimately to sales increase, costs and risk profile reduction. The Vietnam Food Safety project will undertake Global Food Safety Platform activities in Vietnam, from client engagements to training for local consultants and raising awareness on food safety to the private sector. B. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS ASSIGNMENT IFC is supporting improvement of a client’s food safety and quality implementation and other operations. The client is one of Vietnam’s leading fruit and vegetable growers, processors and exporters. It sources from across the Mekong region. It manages its own plantations and operates and allies with various fruit processing factories and works directly or through suppliers with thousands of farmers and suppliers in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. The client plans to improve food safety and good agriculture practices including developing and meeting appropriate key performance indicators (KPIs) related to losses, safety and quality, and to obtain and meet internationally recognized certifications as applicable for certain crops, processing and other activities as needed in their supply chains and build a comprehensive integrated passionfruit supply chain in Vietnam. Over the course of 18 months beginning in July 2019, IFC will field a number of expert consultants to support the client. For this particular assignment, IFC is seeking to hire a short-term consultant or consulting firm for 39 days from October 2020 to July 2021 to provide FSSC22000 advisory services for its three fruit processing factories to support the client to reduce risks, and acquire the certifications as needed. SCOPE OF WORK To provide food safety consultancy services and technical advice, but not limited to, including:

Developing and implementing the food safety management system according to Food Safety System Certification (FSSC) 22000 Scheme, version 5.0 for its three fruit processing factories, including:
- ISO 22000:2018 food safety management system requirements.
- ISO/TS 22002-1: 2009 Prerequisite programmes on food safety -- Part 1: Food manufacturing.
- Additional requirements of FSSC 22000 (Part II, 2.5).
Providing FSSC22000 scheme awareness and understanding training courses for key staff of the company (1 day).
Participating in and supporting IFC team to deliver IFC training courses for the company, including IFC food foundation, handbook/food safety toolkit, and internal audit courses.
Assisting the company to assemble the food safety/HACCP, TACCP, VACCP team, internal audit team, and other necessary teams as per the requirements of the scheme. Assisting the company to design a good documentation system and organizational structure of food safety management system as per FSSC 22000 scheme with clear, specific and relevant responsibilities and authorities (1 day).
Assisting the company to conduct a full, comprehensive, relevant, and accurate hazard analysis, define food safety risks, and develop (a) hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) system, (b) threat analysis and critical control point (TACCP), and vulnerability analysis and critical control point (TACCP) plans as per the requirements of the scheme and guidance from IFC food safety training packages (6 days);
Guiding/instructing and assisting the company to establish a simple, full, comprehensive, relevant, efficient and effective documentation/paperwork by providing training/coaching, consultation for key staff to know how to establish documentation and detailed outline for each document, including its recommended worksheets/forms as per IFC food safety training packages (9 days), including:
- Prerequisite programs, good manufacturing and hygiene practices and standard operating procedures according to ISO/TS 22002-1:2009.
- Necessary documents as required by ISO 22000 such as HACCP plan and necessary for obtaining the FSSC 22000.
- Necessary documents as per FSSC 22000 scheme additional requirements (part II, 2.5), technical, customer requirements, and other regulatory and statutory requirements.
Instructing and assisting the company to apply full documentation to obtain the FSSC certificate and develop effective training/coaching programs and documents for all workers involved (6 days).
Providing guidance to and assisting internal auditors of the company to conduct internal audits (6 days)
Instructing top management of the company to conduct the management review meeting (1 day).
Conducting pre-certification audits to make sure and guarantee that the company fully complies with the FSSC 22000 scheme requirements and ready for the certification audit (6 days).
Assisting the company in the certification audits and correcting any non-conformities/non-compliance found in the certification audits (3 days).
Any other assistances within the scope of this assignment as required.

DELIVERABLES/SPECIFIC INPUTS TO BE PRESENTED TO THE IFC

Training/coaching documents (e.g., FSSC22000 awareness training slides/presentations) for key staff of the company to be aware of, know and understand the FSSC 22000 scheme.
Results of risk assessments, HACCP, TACCP, VACCP plans.
A list of documents and a recommended organizational structure.
Training/coaching documents (e.g., slides/presentations) for key staff of the company to know how to write/establish/develop a document in the documentation system.
A detailed outline for each document in the documentation system including its recommended forms/worksheets.
Full documentation system/paperwork for the company as required by the FSSC22000 scheme and in alignment with IFC food safety training materials.
Training/coaching programs and training/coaching documents for all workers involved in the food safety management system of the company.
Assessment and progress reports and list of participants for each time the consultant visits and works with the company. The reports must clearly and specifically state (1) gaps/outstanding issues the company is facing, (2) any progresses the company has made, and (3) any recommendations and action plans of the consultant to fill these gaps.

Acceptance of Deliverables:

All documents, reporting materials shall be developed by the Consultants and provided to IFC in electronic version.
Payment will be made based on stated deliverables. The Consultant shall submit payment requests upon completion of the deliverables.

LOCATION The assignment will involve mainly in one factory in Binh Thuan, one factory in Son La, and once factory in Ben Tre provinces. QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS Interested candidates are expected to have

Minimum bachelor or engineering degree in food science, food technology, food industry, food safety or relevant majors.
At least having 10 years of experience working in international food safety management standards consulting (particularly for FSSC 22000), food science, food technology/engineering, and food industry.
Deep understanding of HACCP, TACCP, VACCP, GMP, GHP, risk assessments…and international food safety management standards such as FSSC22000, ISO22000, BRC, and other relevant standards.
Good understanding of the fresh fruit produce and processing sector. Participating in IFC food safety training courses is preferable.
Having very good communication and consulting skills, a diligent and systematic approach to the works.
Native Vietnamese and fluent in English, and strong writing skills.
Ability to keep the good relationship and smooth communication with the client.

The Consultant who wants to apply this call as a short-term individual consultant should provide at least 3 references from companies where implementation of FSMS, including FSSC 22000 were conducted. The Consultant who wants to apply this call as an short-term individual consultant should provide a CV in the table format clearly indicating your background, training courses, experiences in the relevant fields/sector, list of your producer clients including name, address, works done/standards consulted, contacts if possible. For Consultant who wants to apply this call as a consulting firm, please inform us. We will send IFC templates to you for your application. REPORTING The consultant will work in close cooperation with IFC global food safety advisory and Vietnam food safety teams. The consultant will report to Mr. Pham Duc Uy, Vietnam food safety project leader. Any contacts or work arrangements with the company within this assignment must be informed to IFC in advance. PROPOSAL AND COST The applicant submits a proposal to state how and when she/he will proceed the works and proposed cost for the works by September 15, 2020. For short-term individual consultants, travel and accommodation will be arranged by IFC. For consulting firms, please inform us and then IFC templates will be sent to you for your application. CONFIDENTIALITY STATEMENT All data and information received from IFC for the purpose of this assignment are to be treated confidentially and are only to be used in connection with the execution of these Terms of Reference. All intellectual property rights arising from the execution of these Terms of Reference are assigned to IFC. The contents of written materials obtained and used in this assignment may not be disclosed to any third parties without the expressed advance written authorization of the IFC. The consultant must guarantee that:

Never transfer or give any things obtained from this assignment including from the producer/client and from IFC to anyone and to any third-party organizations.
Fully take legal responsibilities and commitments including any damage compensations caused by the violations of the consultant to the confidentiality and intellectual property rights of this assignment.

OWNERSHIP OF MATERIALS Any deliverables under this assignment in any form will be the property of IFC, including intellectual property developed under this assignment. All the Project outputs including reports and other creative work called for by these Terms of Reference in written, graphic, audio, visual, electronic or other forms shall acknowledge the support of IFC. Proposals should be submitted to upham@ifc.org no later than Aug 24, 2020.